The Plight of Selphius Josephine
by Fairy of the Flames
Summary: Anyone wonder about Selphy's past? This is about what happened before she ran away... *cough* I mean, travel to Trampoli. Long series, with a lot of OCs. First story so try to be nice. Selphy's POV. Rated T for later events. one sided OC/Selphy, OCxOC
1. Princess in Misery

**Author's Note: Hi, This is my first fanfiction. this is going to make for a long series, so brace yourself.  
**

**This has A LOT of OC's because it's all about Selphy's past right?**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Selphy or any of the Rune Factory games. If I did, I'd... I don't know, party or something.**

**---  
**

The Plight of Selphius Josephine

Chapter 1: Princess in Misery

_"It's true, Valye, I'm a freak" Artik said, swinging his holy axe around to his shoulder._

_"No, Artik, I am the freak here, I am the one with wings I-"_ I slammed closed the book.

Seriously, why would someone write a book only to have lustful feelings be sent back and forth? There needs to be more in a book, right?

Usually, I love books, but this one made me mad. I think that this book might be the only one I'll never finish. I tossed the book away into the pile of books I had already read, and planned to sell it to some drunk.

During my mental raving of the idiotic book I almost didn't hear my mother calling me from the main hall. I walked down the stairs in my ridiculous pink dress, (Ugh!) uncomfortable pump high heels (Double Ugh!) and jewelry that dangled everywhere around my blouse and wrists (Ugh Ugh Ugh!). As I walked down, my thoughts slipped back to what had happened the day before.

My parents told me that I was to be wed to a man I didn't even know. I should have seen this coming, since I am royalty, and my 19th birthday was only a week away. The potential groom was going to arrive this afternoon, which meant I couldn't steal away from my class to do some reading before dinner.

I successfully manage to walk down the winding staircase without falling over, and one of the ladies-in-waiting placed my crown on my head. My mother shooed her away, and she curtsied and walked off.

I sighed about being pulled away before I was able to find another book. My mother led me over to the throne room, then turned right and helped 'escort' me to a room where my studies were to be held.

I sat down in the comfortable chair and sighed.

My name is Selphius Josephine, Princess of Norad.

And I'm totally miserable.

---

I laid down in the chair sideways with my feet dangling across the arms of the armchair. It was not the most comfortable position to be in while in a skirt, but it sufficed for what I was going to do.

I signaled my unofficial lady-in-waiting, Tallie, to come over. Tallie was considered a servant to the rest of the court, but she was more helpful then my own ladies-in-waiting.

"I need you to get me a book, I don't care which. Just take one from the pile in my closet," I told her.

Tallie's pink curly bob flipped behind her as she curtsied and walked off to my room.

As I waited for either Tallie to come back or for my 'fashionably late' tutor to arrive, I began to think about this potential suitor.

My parents had told me that I was to be wed to the son of a champion of a war that happened a long time ago overseas. He had apparently had gone through his own fair share of battles, but that was dubious. He was 20, a year and a week older than me. If he was in as many battles as Mother and Father had said, he would have had to be the Army's little drummer boy.

As Tallie handed me a hardcover book and slipped away to dust the fireplace, I glanced at the cover._ Just Ella_. The book was old, so I was unable to see the author's name on the front cover. The cover portrayed a regal-looking girl with an apparent 'rip' in the cover, showing her in ordinary peasant clothing. The cover looked promising, but I had learned from the previous book I had been reading that you should never judge a book by its cover. Whether it is good _or_ bad.

I was about to open the book open to view its content before I heard the door creak open. I immediately dropped the book on the floor and sat up straight. Most princesses would not be concerned when their tutor arrived, but I was not like most princesses.

Madame Maxine was not the nicest or most interesting tutor I had ever come across. She wore mundane clothing, with browns and grays, with normal cloth. She taught boring classes, and didn't even let me read in class. How terrible was that! She was too interested in making me look as _suitable_ as possible. Did I mention that she'd whack my fingers with a stick if she didn't like what I was doing? It happened a lot. Plus she spoke in this really annoying accent that just made me want to scream.

"Princessie, it is time fo' your lezzon, please repeat afta' me," Madame Maxine said. "Princessies must always wear drezzies, and must neva' eat lemonz, Princessies must always eat small cakez, and neva' spend the dayz away reading boring bookz. Nawo, repeat,"

"No," I back talked her ridiculous comment. "That's stupid. 'Lemonz,' and reading books don't rhyme, and all of your stupid comments like this need to rhyme, so I can remember them easier."

"Stoopid girl!" she smacked the stick against the knuckles on my right hand. _That was my page turning hand!_ I thought. I looked up at my tutor. "You must learn to respect your elda's" she said in that annoying accent.

As she began to rave about how stupid I was, I watched a large brown spider crawl down from its web and slide down until it was hovering over the large mass of black hair that belonged to Maxine. It was Tallie who manage to give the warning signal to Maxine for the creature's presence.

"Excuse me Madame, but there is a big spider floating above your head." My servant said grinning. Apparently she disliked my tutor as much as I did.

It took a few seconds for my heavy tutor to crane her double chinned neck to see the little creature. "Aaggghh! Spider!" she shrieked and batted it out of the sky.

The poor spider landed on the soft carpet next to the book that I wanted to read. It crawled up the armchair, and I jumped up.

Madame Maxine picked up _Just Ella_ and was about to use my precious book for a spider-swatter before I grabbed her wrist and pulled my book out of her hands.

"W'at did you do that for?" she asked.

"You should never use a book to squish insects! Think about the books feelings! Would you want to be used to squish a spider?" I yelled at her.

Then Maxine started yelling at me in French –or at least, what I thought was French- and then stormed out of the room. Little did she know that the spider had decided to climb onto the edge of her skirt. With a few shrieks down the hall, not just Maxine's, I decided that this would be the perfect time for me to slip away into my room and end my studies. I began to sneak out of the room, but was blocked by my sister, Reannin.

Reannin was the beauty out of the two of us. She had curly brown hair, a turquoise short-sleeved dress, and (at least in my opinion) the best features of our mother's. All I inherited from mother was the size of… my… um…

Reannin thankfully interrupted my thoughts. "Macie wanted me to get you ready for meeting the night."

I groaned. Reannin's version of 'getting ready' was smothering me with dresses until she found one that she thought would make me most appealing to this suitor.

I waved goodbye to Tallie and walked out with my older sister, hoping that this suitor would be better then they guy who burned books.

---

**Author's note: sorry if the beginning was slow, this is my first time at it, you know? thanks for reading, and Review if you want!  
**

**Fairy**


	2. New Encounters

**Author's Note: This chapter was very different from what I had wanted it to be. I even changed the title name, because the old one didn't fit.**

**A word of warning to my readers: it's very hard for me to focus on this and do my homework at the same time. Plus I'm a bit stuck on how I'm supposed to do the next chapter, so it could take a while, then again, it may not. it all depends on how much homework me teachers throw at me. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Selphy, Rune Factory Frontier, or Just Ella. The game and the book belong to there rightful owners, and all I own is my OC's and this plot.**

**Have fun reading!  
**

Chapter 2: New Encounters

I walked with my sister and started to wonder about the tale my mother—who, as I learned later on, wasn't my mother at all, but I call her that out of old habits—and what had happened.

I have no memories of my real mother, because she died from a terrible sickness while I was an infant. According to the stories, 2 weeks later, (Does anyone else feel a plot twist?) my father remarried to a wealthy woman by the name of Macie, who as far as I was concerned deserved the name of Mom. My two older siblings still remembered something about our real mother, so they just called her Macie.

As I was thinking about this fact, I tripped over something. Usually, I trip at least once in a while, so I was used to it. But the thing I had tripped on this time was a lot bigger then usual, so I obviously looked at what I had tripped over.

Or rather, whom I had tripped over.

A girl that I had to infer was a maid had been sitting in the corner of the hallway, her face red with embarrassment. She had long brown hair that was braided down her back, and a small brown workers dress. She didn't look much older then 14.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, your majesty!" She helped me up, and then made a fumbling curtsy. "it's my first day at work, and I got lost trying to find the kitchen, so I just waited here for someone to find me."

"It's ok," I replied. "This place _is_ far too big. The kitchen is…" I had to think for a moment. Where was the kitchen? "I think it's near the dining hall, which is another floor up from here, so you should check there."

The girl made another curtsy. "Thank you, Princess Selphius."

I groaned. "Call me Selphy, please."

The girl nodded. "My name is Carma. It was nice meeting a princess, no one is going to believe me at home!" Carma ran off.

Reannin snickered. "Good Carma, bad Carma." She stopped when she realized that I wasn't laughing at her stupid joke. "Come on, Selphy, let's get you ready for the first time you meet the guy you'll get to marry!"

I moaned. Reannin was lucky. She wasn't betrothed to anyone, though she was 3 years older than I. she still could get excited about this while I was dragged from suitor to suitor, hoping one of them would steal me away to their kingdom. Sadly, after over 10 rejected guys, I had begun to lose hope on ever finding Prince Charming.

The rest of the walk to my third bedroom was uneventful; so I started to think about those fairy tales where all of the girls found their boy on the first go around. Cinderella, she found him at a dance. Snow White, the guy found her. I'm a princess, so why couldn't my life be like theirs? True, they had to deal with being poisoned and evil families and whatnot, but I think I could deal with that.

All I've ever wanted in life was for me to be in a book. I wouldn't care if I was the star, or a minor role. I just wanted to be in a book.

Is that too much to ask?

Finally, the two of us got into my third bedroom, named 'the clothing room' for obvious reasons. All there was in there were isles and isles of clothing. This was Reannin's Heaven. This was my-

"What do you think about this one?" Reannin asked, interrupting my thoughts. She liked doing that, especially when I wasn't paying attention to the stuff she wanted me to. She was like Maxine that way.

She was holding up a lime green dress, with long sleeves and a button down back. I shook my head. "No," I told her. "Too plain,"

She grabbed a pastel yellow sundress. "This one?"

"Too showy," I commented, not paying attention until she showed the third or fourth outfit.

It wasn't even a dress, but I loved it all the same. It started as a billowy blouse, and its jacket had an interesting blue color to it, and yellow trousers, which would look totally cute with long stockings, and maybe a pair of black high-heeled shoes. It also came with a top hat the same color as the jacket, and the hat had one billowy feather poking out of it. (**Author's Note: you know what I'm explaining, right?**)

"It's perfect!" I exclaimed. Reannin gave me a funny look.

"I was just showing you this to see if you were paying attention! Jeez, sis, can you make _any_ smart choices by yourself?" She continued to glare as she picked the final dress. "I'm choosing for you. Wear this one." Reannin gestured to my 'maid'. "Tallie, change her."

Now, I agree with you that having one of your best friend change your clothes for you is a little weird, but as a royal, we cannot 'waste the energy' of changing ourselves, so we have our maids remove our clothes and apply the new apparel onto our bodies. I usually feel like a life-sized doll while this is happening.

After Tallie had finished dressing me, I looked down at the dress. The corset was too tight, and it was a pale green in contrast to the rest of the forest green long sleeved dress. The neckline was a bit too low for my personal opinion, but with the look on Reannin's face, I could tell that if I'd argue with her choice, it would be equal to an artist's painting complaining about its final result.

Reannin squealed. "You look stunning. Now, for hair and makeup!"

Princess torture time!

After the torture of my face being plastered with a bunch of makeup by Reannin, and Tallie playing with my hair, Reannin finally considered me decent enough to meet the prince.

I walked down the stairs and saw someone brush past me, but didn't bother to think of them much before I heard a thump above me. I looked back.

The guy that I had passed—a man who looked a little bit older than me with dark brown hair—had tripped on the stairs and dropped the books he was carrying onto the ground.

I went to pick up the books, because if was carrying a lot of books, I'd want someone to help me pick them up for me. I picked up a couple of books and handed them to the guy.

"Thanks," he said politely. He had really deep eyes. I stared into the dark green pools for a second, before he rushed off.

As I walked to meet my betrothed, I wondered who that guy was, and what he was doing in my castle.

---

I hate going outside.

The Sun is like a monstrous villain, lashing out at our faces, burning them.

I walked out of my castle with a parasol in my hand, but I was worried that it would burn from the sun.

I didn't see the suitor at first. I shielded my eyes from the Sun, and I looked around.

I felt a light tap on my shoulder, and swerved around.

A blond guy who was slightly shorter than me had poked me. His eyes were that gross brown that looks like cat barf, and he was covered in armor, and holding a helmet.

"Are you Selphius?" he asked with an accent that I didn't recognize.

"Yes," I said quickly. Then trying to be nice, (since we were going to get married and all) and trying to set things straight, I asked. "Can you please call me Selphy? I don't like the name Selphius."

"That would not be proper, Selphius." He responded.

I could tell that we were going to have a _great_ future together.

"So," I asked awkwardly, not knowing what I should really say to the guy that I'd get married too. "What is your name?"

"Sir Daniel de Quartell," he said quietly, not looking at me.

Maybe he was just shy. I'm sure he'll become more talkative when he knows me better.

"Um… How old were you when you joined the war."

"Eleven."

"Okay," I said, thinking his comment dubious. "How old are you now?"

"27,"

I was slightly surprised. He looked almost as old as my 23-year-old brother, not near middle age.

After thinking that, I realized how close my brother _was_ to being middle aged. Scary.

Then Daniel asked me a question. "How old are you?"

"18,"

Daniel looked like that bit of information was hard to swallow. "Really? I guessed by the way that you dressed that you were older."

I looked down at my outfit, and realized why he wasn't looking at me. The low neckline combined with my too-tight bodice made my cleavage and bosoms look bigger then it should. That must have been why Daniel wasn't looking at me. Curse you Reannin for making me look like this. This the last time I'll let her chose for me.

"Excuse me, Sir Daniel, but I need to change my dress." I did a little curtsy and rushed off.

"Thank you," I heard Daniel whisper.

As I rushed off, I was slightly upset about our first encounter went. I didn't really ask him all of the important questions. Like what books he liked, what books he'd read recently, and other various things. I needed to find his common interests too.

I opened the massive door to my castle and sighed.

"That went well," a voice said sarcastically. I looked at the general direction, and saw my oldest sibling, Crown Prince Kalin, standing near one of the many windows. "What chased you off? Is he that horrible?"

"It wasn't him, it was me. Or this dress." I gave a little twirl for emphasis.

"Nice," Kalin grinned. Then his face grew serious. "Did you hear about Maxine?" he asked.

I responded quickly with a no, wondering what I had done. I thought of the spider and grinned.

"She quit," he said with relief. "Apparently there was a spider or something that attacked her. Anyway, you get two days without any schooling while Father and Macie choose a new tutor. Have fun," he waved me off.

Now, believe me, I tried to contain my excitement about nonstop reading for two solid days, but it was really hard. I practically skipped up the stairs and landed on my full-sized bed in my second bedroom. (Which made me think, why do I have one of these beds in full-size?)

I snatched a nearby book and began to read, letting all need for sleep, food, and water leave as I started the story of…

Crud. Where was _Just Ella_?

I decided to wait on reading it and continue with the tale. I was in my own world.

Books don't judge you. Books don't force you to have stupid tutors. Books don't force you to get married to a guy you briefly met.

It's times like these where I feel that books are one of the few trusted friends I have.

---

**Author's Note: Holy cow that one was long. 2,289 words! It was a lot harder to write then I had thought it would be. Maybe it's because I felt more pushed to write it.**

**Anyway, I need to catch up on the homework that I negleted while writing this. Hope you had fun with this story, and don't forget to send me a review!**

**Until Later!**

**Fairy of the Flames  
**


	3. A Sick Realization

**Author's Note:**

**I am really really sorry guys, that this came out so late. I'll try to be better, but right now school is taking up my life right now. the sadness of being a teen...**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Selphy or any of the Rune Factory games. I just own this plot and Reannin, Kalin, Tallie, Daniel, and a few other characters you'll meet in this chapter. Plus you'll find a very interesting person next Chapter.**

**Anywho, enjoy reading! :D  
**

Chapter 3: A Sick Realization

My first day of tutor break, and I get sick. How wonderful.

I used to get sick like this as a kid, but usually it doesn't happen to often. However, I had to get sick on the worst of days. Lucky me.

I guess that the good thing about this was that I didn't need to go outside. And, if I made any messes, one of the maids would clean it for me. I have never cleaned a mess in my life. Nor have I bathed myself or dressed myself.

I was making good time in various different books, so long as I wasn't throwing up (Which I had only done twice, thank you very much!), but a lot of people were interrupting me. Can you just let sick princesses lie?

I was grateful that Carma came to visit, bringing some Fish Soup. Sadly, I had to set down the current book I was reading in order to eat it. I managed to keep it down, which was amazing.

I had most of time to myself while I was sick, to be honest, but Tallie made sure to take care of me. She spent most of the day with me, which was cool, since all of the other servants that were supposed to take care of me were scared that they'd get sick. Tallie herself wore a mask, which was dumb.

Has anyone else noticed that those masks that are supposed to help prevent illness are only helpful for the person that _was_ sick, instead of the one who is helping the sick? It was just plain stupid!

Anyway, I enjoyed a few books, in fact, I had finished 2 books by the time I was given dinner. I didn't eat it, of course, because I didn't trust my stomach.

I felt watched, so I looked up. Sir Daniel had apparently walked in and was watching me read, staring at the work of Charles Dickens.

"Um, hello, Sir Daniel," I said. It was still awkward.

"Hello Selphius. What are you reading?" he asked, still looking at the words.

"_A Collection of Charles Dickens_, at least, that's what it says on the cover. It just has one or two of his stories. I've seen a better collection, but I'm liking _A Christmas Carol_. Have you read it yet?" I asked him.

"No, I haven't," he said passively, looking around the book bedroom. "You must really like books…" his gaze stopped at Tallie, who was still in the room. He smiled at her.

Tallie, however, was looking at me. "This will not be good," she muttered, but I ignored her comment, because I needed to get one thing straight with my future husband.

"Like books? I don't just like books, books are my life, books are a part of me," I paused. "I LOVE BOOKS!"

While I was saying this, Sir Daniel had backed away a few feet, as I told him the deepest truth of my heart. "That's… nice, Selphius. I'm glad you care that much about books…" he looked a little bewildered. Maybe I should have said my slogan a little quieter.

"What books do you like to read, Sir Daniel?" I asked him. Maybe we could find something in common, like books!

"Er, I um…" Daniel said, flustered.

"Do you like plays, legends, myths? Anything like that? Those are some of my favorites."

"Well…" Daniel was thinking, as if there were so many books to choose, he couldn't pick one genre. I started reading the book again while I waited for him to say his choice.

As I began to read about the tale of _Little Dorrit_, which took up most of the book, Daniel cleared his throat. "Um, Selphius, I need to tell you something."

I looked up from the book. He looked nervous. I went back to the story. "Yes…" I waited for him to continue.

He muttered something.

"What?" I asked.

"I can't read." He said, his voice wavering.

I slammed the book closed. "_What_?!"

---

"Now, Selphy, be reasonable," My father, King Terrance, told me.

I stood in the throne room, facing my parents in their 'domain'. The room was practically golden, and was typical in the ways that you would think for the average grand hall. It was atypical in the fact that there were 5 thrones. 2 for my dad and Macie, then 3 for Kalin, Reannin, and me. it was in order from oldest to youngest, so I was on the right, the farthest from my parents. I wasn't sitting in mine with the rest of my family, oh no. I was facing my parents, speaking my mind.

"You guys want me to marry an _illiterate_?" my family and Daniel flinched at the word. "I'm not doing this. You can't make me,"

"Selphy," Macie warned. "This isn't about choice. Betrothal isn't about choice. It's all about duty to you country, and the peace brought with it. You must do this Selphius."

"I'm not marrying him, not until he learns how to read. Then I'll be fine with it." Truthfully, I would _not_ be fine with it, but this would be more helpful. I want a guy who can read and not just fight. Or farm.

My father paused, his elbow resting on the armrest of his throne, his hand brushing his chin, his 'thinking pose'. He let his hand fall.

"I don't have a problem with that." He said finally. My mother glared at him.

"Don't you think that's asking too much of Daniel? He just came back from fighting in a war, after all. Its not easy to learn how to read at an age above childhood." She said.

Daniel walked forward towards the 5 thrones. "I don't have a problem with this. Of course, I need someone to teach me." he winked at Tallie. He thinks he's such a charmer, flirting with maids when his fiancé stood behind him.

"Selphy," My father said, one blond eyebrow raised. "I expect that you can find an appropriate tutor for Daniel as he learns?"

"Sure." I said, glaring up at him, sitting all mightily on his throne. He and I still look so similar to each other. The same blue eyes. The same curly blond hair. Almost everything showed that I was Daddy's girl.

"Fine," he said. "This meeting is adjourned." He got up from his seat, and stretched. He grabbed my mother's hand and walked away, muttering in her ear.

I walked up to my older siblings, who were talking in hushed tones. They quieted themselves as I walked to them.

"What?" I asked. "Is there something wrong?"

Reannin looked like she was going to fall to pieces, and she just turned around and walked off to one of her bedrooms. I looked to Kalin in silent confusion, hoping he would explain.

"Macie and Dad talked to Reannin today, just before you found out about…" Kalin stifled a laugh. How could he think illiteracy was funny? "Anyway, they were talking about betrothal issues, and you know the issues with Zzyzx?"

"Yeah," I knew. I knew that Zzyzx has had a cease-fire on and off of a war going on with our countries as sworn enemies for, I don't know, the beginning of time.

"Well, the diplomats got talking, and they decided to do another peace treaty. But the problem was; peace treaties of this size needed something to go along with it. So, the betrothed Reannin to the oldest unmarried son of the King of Zzyzx." He said it bluntly, speaking out the plain truth to me without trying to cover them with spices. I could take the grit of the situation.

"That's not good…" I gasped. "But why didn't they send _me_? I could have taken her place…" I wouldn't want to, but I didn't want my favorite (and only) big sister to be whisked off to a land commonly considered forbidden.

"Because the prince is near her age. Plus, it would be better for the oldest to go, instead of the little sis, right?" he raised one brown eyebrow warily.

"I guess your right. But this isn't right. I don't want this to happen. My sister can't just be carried off into Zzyzx. It's not ri-" I rambled for a bit, but Kalin interrupted.

"Not right? Just as right as my little sis being whisked off to who-knows-where with an illiterate knight?" he still tried not to laugh in my face. I scowled at him.

"Go to bed, Selphy, I'm sure you'll feel better in the morning." And with that, Kalin walked off.

I stormed to my room, practically creating dents in the stairs as I walked to my book bedroom. I slammed the door.

I crawled into bed, not even bothering to wait for someone to change me into sleepwear or take off my shoes.

As I did my best to fall asleep in spite of all of the candles and lights still on, one thought echoed in my mind:

Isn't it terrible how large that gap is from what you want to be and who you really are?

--

**Author's Note: sorry that the ending was poo, I wanted to get this up ASAP, so I couldn't edit it either. I need a betareader or something.**

**See you later!  
**


End file.
